The front of this book promised ‘taut, almost unbearable suspense.’ I have to say, I was skeptical, particularly once I began reading and the style was epistolary. How unbearably suspenseful can a series of letters really be?
Turns out, pretty taut.
Talk about a page turner! This (*very) young bride’s husband is shipped off to fight the Civil War after a single day of married life together. He is a widower with a young son—hence the book title, the second Mrs. Hockaday.
The book notes tell that the story was inspired by a real incident. I’m sure there was a LOT of conjecture on the part of the author, but it sure made for a good story! Many of the letters are written by Placidia (the second Mrs. Hockaday) from jail, as she’s awaiting trial. As the reader, you have to first unravel why she’s in jail and what she’s accused of, then determine why she won’t defend herself. The nice part is, it’s mostly Southern women in the 1860s writing, so the vagueness of the details that keeps the reader in suspense feels believable as ‘ladies won’t talk about such things’ rather than anything overly contrived on the part of the author to maintain the suspense for her readers.
The conclusion was satisfying, although as in the case of most reasonably authentic war stories (and in the case of a marital conflict as turns out to be the case here) — there’s not a ‘happy’ ending so much as the avoidance of any further disaster.
Highly recommend. This was a fun read!
